Hennis jury selection nears completion

The 11th juror was provisionally seated in the court-martial of Army Master Sgt. Timothy B. Hennis on Wednesday.

The court-martial, a capital murder trial, needs a minimum of 12 jurors to proceed.

Jury selection resumes at 9 a.m. today. The judge, Col. Patrick Parrish, may announce then whether he will approve another proposed juror who was interviewed Wednesday. Two more potential jurors are scheduled to be interviewed today.

Although the trial needs at least 12 jurors, it's likely the government will seek to seat more than 12 to ensure there are enough on the panel to sit through to the end. No matter the number seated, all jurors would take part in deliberations; the military does not use alternate jurors as commonly seen in civilian trials.

If the jury finds Hennis guilty by a unanimous vote, it then will be asked to choose between sentencing him to death or to life in prison.

Hennis, 52, is accused of killing 32-year-old Kathryn Eastburn and two of her children in May 1985 at their home near Fort Bragg. He has pleaded not guilty and has maintained he did not commit the crimes.

On Wednesday:

One potential juror, a lieutenant colonel, was dropped because she said she would not consider giving a life sentence to someone convicted of murdering a child. She also said she did not think she could be a fair juror.

The 11th juror seated was a lieutenant colonel who neither side objected to.

A command sergeant major was dropped after he said a person should be sentenced to death for killing young children and that he would not consider mitigating evidence, such as a defendant's family history, marriage and children.

Defense lawyers asked Parrish to reject another command sergeant major on the grounds he would be biased in favor of a death sentence and in favor of police witnesses and forensic evidence.

The prosecution team argued this potential juror said he would strive to be fair and consider all the evidence before making decisions on guilt and on sentencing.